Both Chloe and Dorothea naturally bonded because of trauma. They both knew how hard it was to live under the terrible suppression of monsters they had to call husband.
They also had nobody they could rely on for so long. The only difference they had was that Chloe had the guts to leave Vincent, whereas Dorothea had no courage and continued enduring the pain until Vaughn's death.
Unfortunately, even after Vaughn's death, Dorothea still couldn't find peace.
She was still filled with sadness and hatred. She was nothing but a bitter old woman to so many people out there, and her depression worsened as time went on.
"You two might have the same life, but you did something that Chloe will never do!" Vernon yelled louder to mask his aching heart right now. "Despite having the same circumstance as you, Chloe NEVER hurt Mackie! She raised Mackie to be a good daughter, and always tried to shelter the little girl from the harsh reality until she eventually found out about it by accident!"
"Do you know how devastated Chloe got when she realized that Mackie isn't the same ignorant little girl anymore? She thought her life was done for!"
"But how about you, Dorothea Gray?" Vernon confronted, then made a mocking remark, "Oh, I am abused, that's why I will also abuse my own second son because he is a product of rape. I will hit him so hard with that bottle of wine, just because I feel like it!"
"See how ridiculous that is? And you dare to lump yourself together with Chloe? Don't make me laugh, Dorothea!"
"Vernon--I--I--didn't--" Dorothea could only stutter as she had no way to retaliate.
Both of them knew it was the truth.
She wasn't as good as Chloe. She used Vernon to vent her frustration against Vaughn, even though Vernon was just an innocent little boy who knew nothing about the situation surrounding him.
She was just as bad as Vaughn and Vincent. She was a monster that would live forever in Vernon's head.
Vernon's chest rose up and down as he got triggered by the whole thing surrounding his life.
If he could, he wished to have never known about this. He preferred to stay ignorant and continued with his plan to ruin Dorothea's life.
"Remember, Dorothea. Just because you have some sad story, doesn't mean that I will forgive all the abuse you did to me back then! I don't care if you've been beaten by Vaughn or not, that doesn't give you the right to beat me!"
Dorothea kept getting attacked by Vernon's words until her legs trembled, and she slumped on the floor.
"So--Sorry--"
"Don't you fucking apologize now!" Vernon snapped. He pointed at Dorothea's head with his index finger. He continued, "You have twenty years to apologize for all the abuses you did to me back then, but you never say a single sorry to me. All you did was just get drunk and cry about your messy life!"
"You loathed everything, including my presence! Just the fact that I could breathe was enough to send you into rage and beat me for no reason!"
"Dorothea Gray, I will fucking break your bones if you dare to utter an apology now!"
Vernon's last sentence completely shattered Dorothea. She looked up to see her son, whose eyes were glazed with tears again.
Vernon bit his lower lip until it bled to hold off his sobs, "I'm done with you and all of this bullshit! Just leave and stop bugging my little family."
"V--Vernon, my son, I--"
"DON'T YOU DARE CALLING ME YOUR SON!" Vernon shouted as loud as he could. He was so agitated right now that he might lose control anytime soon. "I don't have a mother, Dorothea. You're dead to me!"
Vernon couldn't bear to stay in the same room as Dorothea. So he stormed out of the room before he did something to Dorothea that might upset Chloe.
SLAM!
Vernon opened the door and slammed it behind him. He wasn't surprised to see Chloe standing only two feet away.
Of course, Chloe would get curious about what would happen to her beloved mother-in-law.
"Have you been eavesdropping the whole time?" Vernon asked.
Chloe gulped and nodded slowly. After all, there was no point in hiding it, and Vernon surely would appreciate her honesty.
Vernon stared at Chloe's concerned eyes for a while and then sighed. He truly couldn't stay mad for too long when Chloe was around.
"Dorothea is inside. Don't worry, I did nothing to her. We just had a chat, if you could call it a chat, since it's mostly just me shouting at her," Vernon admitted. "You should check on her."
Vernon was about to walk away to calm himself down, but Chloe suddenly grabbed his arm.
"How about you, Vernon?" Chloe asked.
"Huh? Me?"
"Yes," Chloe nodded. "Do you need time alone, or do you need me to be with you?"
"Tsk, why do you care about me anyway? Just think about that old woman first."
"You're my priority, Vernon," Chloe insisted. "Everything I did the whole time is for you. So I won't let you leave without giving me an answer."
...
"Do you know about the circumstances regarding my birth?"
"Yes," Chloe admitted. "Dorothea told me. That's why I want to make sure you're alright. You're the one who got hurt the most here."
Vernon took a deep breath and finally turned around to face Chloe again. He stepped forward and hugged his beloved woman tightly, then kissed her head.
"If you know about my birth circumstance, then you should know that I have nobody but you and Mackie in this world. I have nothing without you two by my side."
"So you shouldn't think that you have no worth, Chloe. You are everything in my life, you're the woman who has given me something to look up in the future. I am probably dead by this point without you by my side."
**
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